When Gino Gonzalez started at Woodside High School in 1998, he didn’t want to listen to teachers, and he cut class all the time.

But one person could always bring him back to school, and she knew how to reach him.

“I had a cellphone, and I was a knucklehead and always answered it when I cut class,” Gonzalez said. On the other end was Ashby Kilgore, then Woodside’s principal.

“Any time she saw I wasn’t where I was supposed to be, she called, and I ended up coming back to school,” he said.

On Sunday, Gonzalez, now a dad with kids in school, embraced Kilgore after her retirement party, where the school division celebrated her 10 years as superintendent, 22 years in Newport News Public Schools and 45 years in education.

Kilgore’s last day as superintendent was in December, and she officially retires this month.

Teachers, administrators, students, parents and friends from throughout Kilgore’s career attended the retirement party.

Speakers commended Kilgore for her commitment to every student, like the way she stuck with Gonzalez.

Jean Beckerdite, a former schools regional director and administrator, recalled Kilgore had students bused to Todd Stadium from north Newport News to attend football games so Woodside’s team would have students cheering for them and to establish a culture during the school’s first year.

Gonzalez said without Kilgore, he probably would’ve ended up on a bad path and not have the job and family he has today. “I always felt like she put me first," Gonzalez said after the ceremony.

Kilgore’s commitment extended to her staff as well. Beckerdite recalled her encouraging teachers to continue learning and holding development seminars that always had food, back when that kind of funding was available.

John Richardson, a basketball coach at Old Dominion University, thanked Kilgore for believing in him and hiring him to coach at Woodside, launching him into a full-time coaching career. “She sees more in people than they see in themselves,” Richardson said.

Kilgore credited the people she worked with for the growth the school division has seen in her tenure — the graduation rate has improved to 93.4 percent in 2017, the dropout rate has fallen to 2.3 percent and students have access to programs such as the Summer Program for Arts, Recreation and Knowledge.

“All I had to be was the idea girl, and then all of you all here did all the work,” Kilgore said. “And it really was a beautiful synergy of passion and smartness and desire and purpose for young people.”